Strips of clips and clip

ABSTRACT

A strip of bag clips are provided having individual clips each with a bag neck access opening joining a bag neck confining aperture within the clip. The bag neck access opening extends in a transverse direction relative to the length of the strip. Adjacent clips are joined together on adjacent sides via a central or medial and contiguously formed bridge portion defined by laterally formed slots. In one case, the clips are formed from a frangible material. In another case, the clips are formed from a flexible or resilient material. In a further case, the clips are formed from a biodegradable material.

RELATED PATENT DATA

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/605,185, which was filed Aug. 27, 2004, and U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/835,327, which was filed Apr. 28, 2004,and which are incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention pertains to clips and arrays of clips for closing thenecks of flexible bags. More particularly, the present invention relatesto clips and strips of clips capable of being formed from flat materialwhich can be separated by severing a connection between adjacent clipsin a strip, including substantially flat material that is notnecessarily brittle or frangible and can also be constructed frombiodegradable materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is previously known to form adjacent clips in a strip so thatadjacent clips are attached together by way of narrow, frangible webs ofrelatively brittle material. Pursuant to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,164,249;3,164,250; 4,333,566; and 4,911,293, the clips are formed in strips thatinclude such narrow, frangible webs of relatively brittle material. Anindividual clip is then either manually or machine manipulated so as torotate and fracture a single clip from an adjacent clip in a strip,thereby breaking the webs of frangible material and separating anindividual clip. However, such constructions are only suitable whenclips are made from a relatively brittle, frangible material. Such clipconstruction is not suitable for use with relatively pliant andforgiving materials. Furthermore, the severing of individual clips insuch manner can involve the production of stray chips of plastic orfrangible material. These stray dips can be released by a randomfracturing process which can contaminate food or other products within abag, or can also cause malfunctioning of a clip-attaching mechanism.Furthermore, if the webs break in a relatively random manner and not inan intended manner, the webs can remain as sharp projections thatprotrude from the edge of a clip which can scratch or snag otherproducts, or can scratch or snag the hands of a user or purchaser of thebag.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,606 discloses an alternative construction thatminimizes the length of breaking portions between individual clips in astrip. By making the breaking portions of a negligible longitudinallength, an effort is made to avoid the production of undesirable chipsof frangible material or snagging projections which can produce theabove undesirable results. However, such construction involves arelatively complicated technique using a punch and die anvil of sheartools in order to produce the appropriate clip configuration.Furthermore, the strip of clips is still constructed of a frangiblematerial. Accordingly, such construction cannot appear to provide aconstruction suitable for use with non-frangible materials, such asbiodegradable materials or flexible materials suitable for reuse.

By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,293 discloses a prior art strip10 of clips 12, such as clips 12 a-12 d, which are formed together andwhich are subsequently severed from one another by bending andfracturing a frangible web connection either by hand or by using amechanical apparatus, such as one of the machines utilized in U.S. Pat.Nos. 3,163,969 and 3,163,972. As shown in FIG. 1, each clip, such asclip 12 a, is provided with an aperture 14 that is accessed by a bagreceiving passage 16 to receive a bunched-up open mouth portion of a bagwhere it is retained therein so as to close the bag. A pair of frontsurfaces 18 and 20 cooperate to form recessed portions that provide bagreceiving passage 16. More particularly, a pair of tapered, convergingfingers 28 and 30 cooperate to provide bag receiving passage 16.

Clips, such as 12 a-12 d, in strip 10 are held together with adjacentclips via pairs of internesting protrusions 22 and 24 which are providedon opposite lateral edges of each respective clip 12. As disclosedwithin U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,293, adjacent protrusions 22 and 24 areactually integrally formed together by way of a relatively small segmentof interconnecting material that is not visible in FIG. 1. Physicalmanipulation of a single clip, such as clip 12, relative to a remainingportion of strip 10 causes severing of such segments between protrusions22 and 24 so as to sever an individual clip 12, either manually or byway of a machine. Additionally, pairs of projections 32 and 34 areprovided within each aperture 14 to further ensure gripping of a bunchedtogether mouth portion of a bag within aperture 14 when a bag is held insuch aperture.

The above-described techniques of bending and fracturing one or morefrangible web connections will not work well on closure clips that areconstructed of non-frangible materials, such as biodegradable materialsand flexible or resilient materials. Accordingly, improvements areneeded in light of the above-described deficiencies of the prior artpresented herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A strip of bag clips are provided having individual clips each with abag neck access opening joining a bag neck confining aperture within theclip. The bag neck access opening extends in a transverse directionrelative to the length of the strip. Adjacent clips are joined togetheron adjacent sides via a central or medial and contiguously formed bridgeportion defined by laterally formed slots. In one case, the clips areformed from a frangible material. In another case, the clips are formedfrom a flexible or resilient material. In a further case, the clips areformed from a biodegradable material.

According to one aspect, a closure clip unit is provided with aplurality of closure clips integrally formed in a strip of essentiallyflat material. Each closure clip has an aperture provided in the clipwith an entrance to the aperture provided at a lateral edge of thestrip, and a central tab integrally provided between each successiveclip of the strip and a respective next adjacent one of the clips.

According to another aspect, a strip of closure clips is provided havinga plurality of closure clips integrally formed in a strip ofbiodegradable material.

According to yet another aspect, a bag closure clip is provided with aclosure body of thin, flexible biodegradable sheet material with a bagconfining mouth and a narrow opening located in a longitudinal side edgeand a contiguous web in a lateral side edge configured to be integrallyformed with another closure clip in the form of a multi-closure strip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below withreference to the following accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a strip of clips according to aprior art construction;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a roll of an elongated strip of dipsaccording to one construction of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, plan view of a strip of clips according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

This disclosure of the invention is submitted in furtherance of theconstitutional purposes of the U.S. Patent Laws “to promote the progressof science and useful arts” (Article 1, Section 8).

Reference will now be made to a preferred embodiment of Applicant'sinvention comprising a clip and a strip of clips for closing flexiblebags. While the invention is described by way of a preferred embodiment,it is understood that the description is not intended to limit theinvention to such embodiment, but is intended to cover alternatives,equivalents, and modifications which may be broader than the embodiment,but which are included within the scope of the appended claims.

In an effort to prevent obscuring the invention at hand, only detailsgermane to implementing the invention will be described in great detail,with presently understood peripheral details being incorporated byreference, as needed, as being presently understood in the art.

FIG. 2 illustrates a strip 110 of individual clips 112 according to oneaspect of the present invention. Clips 112 are often referred to asclosure clips. Each clip 112 has a central aperture 114 thatcommunicates with a bag receiving passage, or a slit 116 that isprovided in each dip 112 so as to extend in a lateral direction relativeto strip 110. According to one construction, strip 110 is formed from arelatively flexible material such as polypropylene. An alternativeresilient or flexible material comprises a high impact polyethylene.Further alternatively, strip 110 of clips 112 can be formed from abiodegradable material such as paper, wax-impregnated paper, any of anumber of wood fiber based products, biodegradable plastics, or othernatural or biodegradable materials that break down when exposed toelements within the environment. Even further alternatively, strip 110of clips 112 can be formed from a relatively brittle, frangiblematerial, as previously utilized within the prior art techniquespresently known within the field. Further alternatively, strip 110 canbe formed from wood or metal, such as steel, aluminum, or copper.

For the case where strip 110 is formed from a ductile material such ascopper, one benefit of the present invention can clearly be discernedbecause copper is not frangible under tactile manipulation. Moreparticularly, prior art techniques for severing individual clips from astrip will not work with a ductile material such as copper. However, theuse of the strips and clips described herein can be implemented evenwith ductile materials when the clips are cut or severed from a strip byway of an automatic clip-applying machine. Prior art techniques utilizean automatic clip-applying machine that used a pusher with a rounded tipto displace one clip relative to another and to cause fracture betweeninterconnections on adjacent protrusions. Such technique will not workwell with a ductile material, such as copper.

As shown in FIG. 2, strip 110 can be stored as a roll 150 in order tofacilitate dispensing of individual clips 112 from strip 110. Forexample, roll 150 can be incorporated into a rotary unwind apparatus ofa clip dispensing machine that has opposed cutting edges that are driventogether to co-act and sever individual clips 112 from strip 110 of roll150.

FIG. 3 illustrates an enlarged detailed view of a selected portion ofstrip 110 showing a plurality of adjacently formed clips 112. FIG. 4further illustrates such construction taken along section line 4-4 ofFIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, strip 110 is formed from a single continuous pieceof material, such as polypropylene or some other previously mentionedsuitable material. One technique involves cutting strip 110 from arelatively thin sheet of material. Another technique involves stamping,machining, or laser cutting strip 110 from a sheet of material. Othertechniques involve cutting strip 110 between a pair of intermeshingrotary cutting dies.

In the forming process, individual clips 112 are contiguously joinedtogether by way of a narrowed strip, isthmus, or web 152. Each strip 152is provided along a central, or medial portion of strip 110, and a pairof laterally positioned slots 154 and 156 are provided immediatelyadjacent opposite sides of strip 152, respectively. Accordingly, slots154 and 156 cooperate to define strip 152 as being a relatively narrowstrip between adjacent clips 112, compared with a lateral width of strip152.

Each clip has aperture 114 cooperating with a respective bag receivingpassage 116 which is provided between a pair of opposed front surfaces118 and 120. Front surfaces 118 and 120 terminate in a converging pairof fingers 128 and 130 so as to provide a relatively narrow gap, orpassage 116 into aperture 114 for receiving a bunched-up open neckportion of a flexible bag, such as a plastic bag.

As shown in FIG. 4, individual clips 112 within strip 110 are shown withrelatively narrow bag receiving passage 116 entering into aperture 114.Likewise, the relative scale of slots 156 are shown with respect to aselected one of clips 112.

According to the construction depicted in FIGS. 2-4, it is understoodthat bag closure clips can be manufactured in a continuous strip andstored in a roll from non-frangible materials, such as biodegradablematerials. Suitable biodegradable materials include paper, paperproducts, cardboard, and other traditional biodegradable materials.However, such a strip of closure clips can also be constructed frombiodegradable plastics, such as biodegradable thermal plastics. Oncesuch plastic is Polyactide (PLA), a biodegradable thermal plastic.Another material comprises Polyactic acid binder for joining togethercellulose and other biodegradable materials. Even another materialincludes poly vinyl alcohol (PVOH). Even another material includesbiodegradable polyester amide. An even further product includes abiodegradable polymer which is capable of being thermoformed.

According to the construction depicted in FIGS. 2-4, a plurality ofclosure clips are integrally formed in a strip with a central tabintegrally provided between adjacent clips. According to oneconstruction, the central tab has a width of at least about 10 percentof the width of the strip. In some cases, the central tab has a widthfrom about 20 percent to about 30 percent of the width of the strip. Ineven further other cases, the strip has a width of greater than aboutseven percent of the width of the strip. Furthermore, some furtherdesirable constructions provide a central tab with a width of about 25percent of the width of the strip.

Construction of the central tab, or web, is configured to enablesevering of clips from a strip using a pair of coacting cutting edges,such as cutting edges provided between a pair of complementary cuttingdies. In contrast, prior art techniques utilize a finger that bends oneclip relative to another in order to impart fracture of the frangibleinterconnecting webs provided between adjacent clips. The provision ofsuch a central tab or web, which is configured to be cut between a pairof coacting cutting edges, enables the use of non-frangible materials,such as polypropylene, in constructing a strip of closure clips.Furthermore, such construction enables utilization of biodegradablematerial which tends to not be brittle or frangible, and which cannot bereadily fractured using the prior art techniques discussed above.Accordingly, a strip of closure clips can be formed from a resilientplastic material, or from a contiguous sheet of biodegradable material.

Furthermore, paper and paper products can be used to formulate such astrip of clips. For example, the provision of materials with a highcontent of wood fiber within paper or cardboard, along with an adhesivebinder, enables the production of a fairly rigid strip of clips. Suchstrip of clips can be severed along the central connecting tab by a pairof coacting cutting edges by a clip cutting machine that is used toapply and sever clips from a strip during a bagging operation forproducts such as thermoformed articles, as well as food products.

In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described inlanguage more or less specific as to structural and methodical features.It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited tothe specific features shown and described, since the means hereindisclosed comprise preferred forms of putting the invention into effect.The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms ormodifications within the proper scope of the appended claimsappropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine ofequivalents.

1. A closure clip unit, comprising: a plurality of closure clipsintegrally formed in a strip of essentially flat material, an apertureprovided in each clip with an entrance to the aperture provided at alateral edge of the strip, and a central tab integrally provided betweeneach successive clip of the strip and a respective next adjacent one ofthe clips.
 2. The closure clip unit of claim 1 wherein the central tabcomprises a contiguous medial web interposed between a pair of laterallypositioned slots, one slot provided on each of a pair of opposed edgesof the strip and positioned between adjacent closure clips.
 3. Theclosure clip unit of claim 2 wherein the web has a width in the range of20-30 percent of a width of the strip.
 4. The closure clip unit of claim3 wherein the plurality of closure clips are formed from a contiguousstrip of resilient material.
 5. The closure clip unit of claim 4 whereinthe strip comprises a resilient plastic material.
 6. The closure clipunit of claim 4 wherein the plurality of closure clips are formed from acontiguous sheet of biodegradable material.
 7. The closure clip unit ofclaim 6 wherein the biodegradable material comprises a paper-basedmaterial.
 8. The closure clip unit of claim 6 wherein the biodegradablematerial comprises a biodegradable polyethylene.
 9. The closure clipunit of claim 8 wherein the biodegradable plastic comprises abiodegradable polyester amide.
 10. A strip of closure clips, comprising:a plurality of closure clips integrally formed in a strip ofbiodegradable material.
 11. The strip of closure clips of claim 10wherein each strip comprises an aperture with an entrance to theaperture provided at a lateral edge of the strip.
 12. The strip ofclosure clips of claim 10 wherein at least one web is providedcontiguously between adjacent ones of the clip.
 13. The strip of closureclips of claim 12 further comprising a pair of slots provided laterallyon opposed edges of the strip about the web.
 14. The strip of closureclips of claim 10 wherein the strip of biodegradable material comprisespaper.
 15. The strip of closure clips of claim 10 wherein the strip ofbiodegradable material comprises a paper-based product.
 16. The strip ofclosure clips of claim 10 wherein the strip of biodegradable materialcomprises a biodegradable plastic.
 17. The strip of closure clips ofclaim 10 wherein the strip of biodegradable material is a strip ofessentially flat material.
 18. A bag closure clip, comprising: a closurebody of thin, flexible biodegradable sheet material with a bag confiningmouth communicating with a longitudinal side edge and a contiguous webin a lateral side edge configured to be integrally formed with anotherclosure clip in the form of a multiple-closure strip.
 19. The bagclosure clip of claim 18 wherein the closure body comprises a resilientmaterial.
 20. The bag closure clip of claim 19 wherein the closure bodycomprises a biodegradable plastic.
 21. The bag closure clip of claim 18wherein the closure body comprises paper.
 22. The bag closure clip ofclaim 18 wherein the contiguous web comprises a non-frangible material.23. The bag closure clip of claim 18 wherein the contiguous web isprovided medially of the lateral side edge and an opposed lateral sideedge of the closure body.
 24. The bag closure clip of claim 18 whereinthe contiguous web comprises a thin, wide strip having a lateral widthless than a lateral width of the closure body.
 25. The bag closure clipof claim 24 wherein the contiguous web has a lateral width ofapproximately 25 percent of a lateral width of the closure body.
 26. Thebag closure clip of claim 18 wherein the contiguous web comprises abridge portion configured to be severed between a pair of coactingcutting edges.
 27. The bag closure clip of claim 18 wherein the closurebody further comprises a narrow opening formed by the bag confiningmouth along the longitudinal side edge.
 28. The bag closure clip ofclaim 18 wherein the closure comprises polypropylene.